Romeo And Juliet Act 3 Scene 5 Essay

1677 Words4 Pages

Thomas McCarten 10G

How should the actress playing the role of Juliet convey her feelings to the audience in Act Three Scene Five of “Romeo and Juliet”?

Act three, scene five is probably the most important part of the play in terms of Juliet’s changing emotions and inner feelings. She becomes increasingly isolated and throughout the scene we start to realize how distressed Juliet inevitably becomes. She parts with Romeo, receives heavy insults from her father Capulet, then feels betrayed by the Nurse who believes Paris is the man she should marry.

The scene opens the morning after Romeo and Juliet’s wedding night together, yet the atmosphere is sombre because Romeo must leave, following the …show more content…

She might have a blank look on her face to show she feels nothing now that Romeo has left.

Whilst Juliet and Lady Capulet are having a very tearful discussion, Lady Capulet’s view of why Juliet is upset is, as we know, incorrect. She believes all the constant, aggressive complaining from Juliet has arisen from the death of Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. But what we, the more knowledgeable audience know is that the parting with her loved one, Romeo is to blame for the majority of her sadness.

This is a perfect example of one of the many examples of dramatic irony in the play. Dramatic irony occurs when a particular character, along with the audience, know something that another character doesn’t. There are various examples of this; Lady Capulet presuming all her daughter was crying about was the death of her cousin

“Evermore weeping for your cousin’s death?”

Juliet subtly conveys her feelings with lines that have double meanings

“Villain and he be many miles asunder – God Pardon him! I do, with all my heart; And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart.”

With this little aside, Juliet could mean that she loves him with …show more content…

“God Pardon him!” should be said with a higher volume, almost a shout, in contrast to “And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart” which should be almost whispered with a thoughtful facial expression.

Juliet then explains how she’ll never be satisfied until Romeo’s dead, but we see more dramatic irony

“Indeed, I shall never be satisfied with Romeo, till I behold him-dead”

Juliet is also implying she won’t be happy until she’s dead with him.

The final example of dramatic irony comes at the end of the discussion

“I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear, it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate”

From Lady Capulet’s view, Juliet is trying to explain that she absolutely doesn’t want to marry Paris, by pretending she’d rather marry Romeo, who is seen in Lady Capulet’s eyes as the lowest of the low. However, the audience know that Juliet does actually want to marry Romeo, and she is using this line

“It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate” as a trick to cover up their relationship. Juliet should deliver this line using a loud angry voice and perhaps go face to face with Lady Capulet to show

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